Correlator for blood specimens



Sept. 17, 1940. T. A. FLOOD CORRELATOR FOR BLOOD SPECIMENS y Q M i My 4a 7 m 2 n Av R 4 mm I a f M m7 T FM d "6. a; m 4 m g i f N V J m /.IT 4q i 3 i 3 WL M u r/v/ r4 R a i w m 7TA.F2.00.D,

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,215,118CORRELATOR FOR BLOOD SPECIMEN S Thomas A. Flood, Los Angeles, cant.

Application September 30, 1937, Serial No. 166,677

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a correlator for blood specimens;

The principal objects of the invention are:

First-To keep in an isolated, correlative relationship for individualblood tests, the pipettes and slides used in making such blood tests.

Sec0nd.To provide a device which may be conveniently used in hospitallaboratories, clinical laboratories, physicians offices, at patientsbedsides, and elsewhere, in the collection and correlative preservationof specimens of blood, for subsequent microscopical examination.

Third-To avoid confusion in the identification of different individualsets or groups of blood-specimen pipettes and slides, thereby preventingany particular set or group of pipettes or slides from becoming mixedwith any other set or group.

Fourth.To prevent collected blood specimens from becoming misplaced,lost, or inadvertently laid aside or overlooked.

Fifth.To prevent the breakage of pipettes or slides by protecting themat all times, both before, and after, blood specimens are obtained, andwhile they are in transit from one point to another.

Sixth-To prevent pipettes ,from rolling off tables or work-benches whilemaking microscopical examinations of collected blood specimens.

Seventh-To provide means whereby the contents of blood pipettes may beshaken or. agitated without removing them from the correlator.

Eighth-To prevent the tapered or conical ends or tips of blood pipettesfrom becoming clogged through drying or coagulation of the contents,after a specimen of blood is obtained.

Ninth.To save valuable time, because of the expediency'with which bloodspecimens may be obtained, safeguarded in temporary storage, andexamined in systematic order.

Tenth.-To insure greater accuracy in rendering reports on bloodexaminations than has heretofore been possible, because the element oferror is reduced to a minimum.

All hospitals approved by the American Medical Association must conformto certain basic requirements in order to receive recognition andapproval. All admissions to a hospital, entered as medical cases musthave an examination and report on the patients blood. This examinationincludes what is known as white, red and differential count regardlessof any other additional examination that the attending physician mayrequire. The details of such tests need not be here particularized, butit is sufficient to state that the blood specimens, after taking, mustbe carefully safeguarded, and specimens belonging to one individual,must be kept carefully segregated during every manipulation 5 thereof,if the tests are to be of any value. This means that the blood specimenswhich are collected in pipettes, as well as blood smears made on glassslides at the same time, must have absolute security against confusionwith other 10 blood specimens, during transit from the patient to thelaboratory, and in all subsequent manipulations thereof.

In the drawing, which illustrates an excellent embodiment of myinvention,

Fig. 1 represents a plan;

Fig.2, a vertical section taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a plan opposite to that shown in Fig. 1, which is to say, thatthe device is invertible, one 20 plan being the top, and the other thebottom, at one time, and vice versa at another time.

Fig. 4, a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 1,drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5, a vertical cross-section taken on the line 55 in Fig. 2, drawnto an enlarged scale; and,

Fig. 6, a fragmentary plan, including approximately the area enclosed bythe broken line 6 30 in Fig. 3, the cover of the device being omitted.

Referring to the drawing, a structural framework is provided, which maycomprise a base plate 20, on one side of which, in this instance theupper side, are disposed vertical guards 2| 35 and 24. Each of theguards may advantageously consist of the vertical leg of an anglerigidly attached to the base plate. Suitably supported and safeguardedin the space between the guards 2| and 24, are one or more, in thisinstance two, 4 pipettes 25 and 26, which may be of the kind usuallyemployed to contain blood specimens: Such pipettes are generally made ofglass and have tapered tips with plain'faces at both ends thereof.Naturally, the pipettes are rather fragile, so that they must beproperly supported and protected to insure against breakage.

Another necessary condition is that the pipettes must be provided withmeans to prevent the accidental loss of their blood-specimen 50contents. This requirement I attain by bringingthe plane faces of thepipette tips into close contact with resilient cushions so as to formtight closures. In the present instance, the closure cushions mayconsist of stationary stoppers 21, 55

the wings open slightly and allow the stem to made of rubber or othernon-absorbent material, suitably held in the guard 2|, and movablestoppers 28 made of similar material. Each movable stopper mayconveniently be secured in a slidable carriage 2i consisting in thisinstance of a metallic sleeve 3U, to which are attached, for example bymeans of soldering at 31a, two shoes 3! which engage or are engaged bythe inwardly inclined flanges 32a of a guideway 32. There is preferablya frictional contact between the shoes- 3| and the respective guidewayflanges, such frictional contact being enhanced by any suitable means,for example, an upwardly convexed strip of spring metal 34 having oneend thereof secured to the frame structure by a rivet 33. Thus thestoppers 28 may be moved back and forth along their respective guideways32 to accommodate pipettes of different lengths. The yielding pressureexerted by the spring 34, increases the frictional engagement betweenthe carriage and guideway, and prevents the too easy longitudinaldisplacement of the carriage.

The pipettes are secured against accidental displacement by supportingthem in resilient clasps 35, which usually engage the long stems of thepipettes. The clasps are preferably made of very thin, springy materialsuch as steel or phosphor bronze, having enduring elastic or resilientqualities which show no fatigue after long continued use.

Disposed in the bottom of each clasp is a cradle 36, formed preferablyof a thin metallic strip having both ends thereof curled as indicated at31, so as to form resilient bearings for a pipette. The curls arepreferably located just beyond the extremities of the clasp. Thepipettes rest on the cradles and are at least partially embraced by thewings of the respective clasps preferably longitudinally along theshanks or long stems of the pipettes, thus holding them securely and inperfect alignment. It is intended that the pipettes shall be slippedinto the clasps without much pressure being exerted, and to be removedtherefrom without exerting force. Removal is preferably effected bysliding the carriages 29 back sufiiciently far so that the pipettescanbe withdrawn by longitudinal movement. In practice, the pipettes varyconsiderably in length and diameter, but the construction of the claspsand cradles, as just set forth, easily accommodates the various sizes.

The pipettes are inserted in the cradles by laying them in the channelsformed by the divergent tips 39 of the wings 38, and exerting a gentledownward pressure with the fingers. Thereby pass between them. Theentering position of the stem is indicated by the dotted circles in Fig.4. It is to be noted that as a pipette is pushed down into a clasp,there will be a little give to the curled ends of the cradle whichprevents breakage of the pipette, and at the same time holds the samepositively, without any chance of rattling when the correlator isshaken, as hereinafter described. Naturally, the position of thepipettes in their respective clasps is such, that the end faces of thepipettes lie wholly within the area of the stoppers 27 and 28. Thecradles and clasps are firmly fastened to the base plate 20 by anysuitable means, for example, rivets 40.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bulbs, such as 25a and 26a, of thepipettes, are entirely clear of the base plate, and are so disposed thata proper clearance space is also left between the bulbs and arrow 48.

a plane 13 corresponding to a flat table or other surface on which thecorrelator may be placed. Such a surface extends across the guards 2|and 24, and protects the bulbs against breakage.

Since it is important that the slides on which smears of blood have beenmade, shall always accompany the pipettes to the laboratory and remainso assembled until examination is complete, I provide a safe compartmentfor the slides on the reverse side of the base plate 2E3. Thiscompartment consists of a box-like cover having preferably an opening 46therein, through which the slides can be viewed. The cover may be hingedat Gland swing open as indicated by the Normally, the cover is held inthe closed position by means of a spring catch 49. The catch mayadvantageously consist of a lever 50 hinged at 5|, and having its tip 52normally in engagement with an abutment 53, forming an integral. part ofthe cover 35. A leaf spring 54 having its forward portion bearingagainst an angular portion 50a of the lever 50, serves to exert theproper pressure.

for example, by rivets 58, and having the seat portions 59 spaced apartfrom the base plate.

The slides are yieldingly held against both seats by means of anintermediate leaf spring 60 which exerts its pressure inwardly of thecover. The

closed cover is protected by guards El and 62,

since a plane occupying the position 63 across the tips of the guards,leaves a sufiicient clearance space 64 between itself and the cover.

It is to be remembered that the correlator is invertible in plan, whichis for the purpose of having the pipette side uppermost, as indicated inFig. 2, when the pipettes are manipulated, and on the other hand, tohave the slides uppermost when these are being manipulated. Therefore,when the cover 45 is to be opened, it is customary to have that sideuppermost, exactly the reverse of the condition indicated in Fig. 2.

Assuming the slide side of the correlator to be uppermost, slides may beinserted or removed by releasing the catch 39. This is accomplished bypulling up the free end of the cover and inserting or removing theslides one by one. The construction of the seat member is such that acentral portion of each slide can be engaged by the thumb and forefingerof one hand, as indicated in Fig. 6.

For this purpose, the slides are confined side- Wisely by only the endportions 65 of the seat member. This leaves the space 6? between the twoseat portions on both sides entirely clear of any obstruction.

An important consideration in a blood test is a that the blood specimensin pipettes shall be correlatively and thoroughly shaken at significanttimes, in order that the corpuscles shall be brought freely into uniformsuspension in the diluting fluid, preferably through acompoundinexpensive be maintained, and that the one constantlyaccompanying the other, provision must be made in the present device forholding the slides in pressure contact with one another to keep themfrom rattling. This is accomplished by the springpressed, yielding meanshereinbefore explained.

While a specific embodiment of the invention is herein shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that I may resort to various changesthat lie within the scope of the following claims.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A correlator for blood specimens, including in combination, twopipettes containing blood specimens of a single individual, a base,means for firmly and removably mounting the said pipettes theregn,substantially parallel to the base, but spaced apart therefrom, stoppersfor both ends of the respective pipettes and mounted on the base insubstantial alignment with the said pipettes, a slide on which is asmear of the blood of the said individual, and securing means on thesaid base whereby the blood-smeared slide is held fixed, relative to thesaid pipettes.

2. A correlator for blood specimens, including in combination, ablood-specimen pipette, a base,

means for detachably mounting the pipette on the base substantiallyparallel to the plane thereof, a stopper mounted stationary on the basein contact with one end of the pipette and a second stopper movablymounted on the base so as to contact the other end of the pipette.

3. A correlator for blood specimens in accordance with claim 2, whereinguards are disposed at each end of the base, each of the said guardshaving a substantially vertical member of a height and lateral extentsuch that when the correlator is inverted a plane in contact with andextending across the guard is suitably spaced apart from every point ofthe pipette.

4. A correlator for blood specimens in accordance with claim 2, whereinthe mounting for the second-mentioned stopper includes a carriage inwhich the stopper is tightly held, and guides in which the carriage isslidable.

5. A correlator for blood specimens including in combination, a base, apipette, and means for mounting the pipette on the base, whereinthemounting means for the pipette includes a clasp comprising twomutually parallel resilient wings adapted to yieldingly contact the stemof the pipette and a cradle having resilient curled portions at bothends thereof, the said curled portions being adapted to exert a yieldingpressure upon the pipette in opposition to at least a portion of theyielding pressure exerted by the said wings.

6. A correlator for blood specimens, including in combination, a bloodspecimen pipette, a base, means for removably mounting the said pipetteupon the base, and movable stoppermeans in contact with the tip of thepipette, the said stopper means comprising a carriage in which thestopper is fixed, a guideway in which the carriage is slidable, andspring means whereby frictional pressure is exerted between the carriageand the guideway.

7. A correlator for blood specimens in accordance with claim 6, in whichthe carriage has two outwardly extending shoe portions and the guidewayconsists of a channel having inwardly extending flanges against whichthe shoe portions of the carriage have their bearing.

8. The combination with a base, of means for mounting a blood-specimenpipette upon the base substantially parallel therewith; stopper meansfor the pipette, including a movable stopper in contact with a tip ofthe pipette, a carriage in which the stopper is fixed, shoes extendingoutwardly from. the carrier, -a channel guideway having inwardlyextending flanges against which the said shoes have a bearing, and afiat spring within the channel and extending lengthwise thereof, thesaid spring being curved so as to exert a yielding pressure against thecarriage, thereby causing a frictional pressure to be exerted betweenthe said shoes and the said flanges.

9. The combination, including a base, means for removably mounting twopipettes spaced. apart from, but substantially parallel to each other,on one side of the base, guards extending upwardly from the base andhaving the outer plane thereof suitably spaced apart from the pipette,and means for confining a suitable plurality of blood specimen slidesupon the opposite surface of the said base, the said confining meanscomprising a resilient seat member having seat portions adapted tosupport the mutually opposing end portions of the said slides, and ahinged cover enclosing the said seat member and slides, the said coverbeing adapted to exert a yielding pressure upon the slides in oppositionto the resilient stress of the holder.

10. The combination specified in claim 9, but including the provisionthat the seat member for the slides has the seat portions thereof spacedapart from each other sufiiciently far so that the slides can be liftedout of the seat member by means of the thumb and forefinger of a userwhen the said cover is open.

11. A correlator for blood specimens comprising a relatively light andcompact structural framework capable of being easily shaken manually,stopper means secured to and spaced apart on said structural frameworkfor receiving blood pipettes, said stopper means being adjustable and.adapted to seal the open ends of the said blood pipettes against leakagewhile being shaken, and means for securing said blood pipettes to saidstructural framework between said stopper means.

12. A correlator for blood specimens comprising a relatively light andcompact structural framework capable of being easily shaken manually,stopper means secured to and spaced apart on said structural frameworkfor receiving blood pipettes, said stopper means being adjustable andadapted to seal the open ends of the said blood pipettes against leakagewhile being shaken, means for securing said blood pipettes to saidstructural framework between said stopper means, and means secured tosaid structural framework for retaining a plurality of glass slides,said means being so constructed and arranged as to tightly hold theplurality of slides while said correlator is being shaken.

THOMAS A. FLOOD.

all

